Juggling benefits

There are many advantages with learning juggling, many of them still  don’t have a scientific approval but most of the jugglers, teachers, parents are witnessing the same contributions and benefits caused by juggling. In this post I will try to be accurate as possible and give you relevant references from my sources.

Here are twelve good reasons why you should learn how to juggle today!

1. Juggling is fun and cool

No research is needed to prove that juggling is pure fun! It's an impressive skill that anyone would like to acquire!

brain power!

2. Juggling benefits to your brain growth

The main out-breaking research about juggling benefits made in Germany and proved by MRI scans that practicing juggling expand your brain. Especially the areas that involved with visual and motor activity which improve significantly the processing and storage of complex visual motion (Bogdan Draganski, 1/22/2004). This is a fundamental fact that the other benefits is based on.

3. Juggling enhances connections in the brain

An Oxford research proved that juggling not only contributing the brain expansion it's also causing the wiring system to operate more efficiently (Jan Scholz1, 1370 - 1371 (2009))

4. Juggling contributes your mental rotation

In 2009 a research clearly showed that practicing juggling improved the RT scores which is a pure evidence that there is a connection between juggling and spatial ability.  (Jansen, Titze, & Heil, 2009)

Test yourself with some with quick RT test: 

RT test

5. Juggling is a sport!

jogging 1988

With juggling you can burn up to 300 calories an hour you will probably won't notice it because you will have so much fun! Combining juggling with another sport exercise like walking, running or jumping will increase the weight loss significantly! Beyond losing weight, exercising is healthy and super important to our lifestyle!

Jugglers already invented "joggling" a competitive sport that combines juggling and jogging, it has world championship and records!

6. Juggling improves your coordination, rhythm and timing

Learning how to juggle involve with learning new body movements with the instrument. Each instrument or new trick "force" us to use our coordination, rhythm and timing skills. By practicing and using those skills over and over until we master the trick causing a significant improvement in all motor aspects.

solve your problams!

7. Juggling helps you solve problems

The basic way to learn juggling is to understand the principals of the instrument and then start to learn the basic moves step by step. This way of thinking eventually come handy when we try to solve daily problems.

8. Juggling improves everyday memory performance

Cynthia R. Green, Psychology, says that Complex motor integration activities such as juggling have been shown to increase brain volume and improve everyday memory performance (Green, n.d.)

aaarrrggghhh

9. Juggling reduce stress

A research made in japan showed that practicing juggling helps us to cope with anxiety and stress (Toshihiro Nakahara1*, 2007), I personally can say that I use juggling as a meditation and relaxation between studying or working sessions, I use it on a daily basis and it really helps me to clear my mind.

10. Juggling improves your Concentration

learning how to juggle makes children and adult being focus on one object or trick they are trying to learn, because juggling is fun and rewarding we tend to keep our focus on succeeding the trick what actually causing the improvement in our concentration.

11. Juggling improves your self esteem

Learning juggling is cool but most of all - rewarding, the feeling you get after achieving your goals are awesome! It makes you feel good with yourself and build your self-esteem, this especially seen among kids that preform with juggling to their parents and friends. The satisfaction and the comments they get helps them build their self-esteem.

12. Juggling improves your academic skills

Teachers Link Juggling to Improved Academic Skills, concentration, eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, reading, and behavior (educationworld, n.d.)

Also a juggling teaching program that took place in Balsall Common Primary School led to a significant academic achievements among pupils with learning disorder. Headmaster Trevor Davis said "(There has been a) 300% to 400 % improvement in many cases in terms of their results…SATS results have improved and, on top of that, self-esteem."

(BBC, 2003)

I hope this post was beneficial to you, and all my research work wasn’t for nothing…

Now that you know the juggling benefits I am pretty sure you are full of motivation to start learn how to juggle!

See you in the next post!

Bibliography

• BBC. (31 January 2003). Juggling kids beat dyslexia.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2714175.stm
• Bogdan Draganski, C' G'. (1/22/2004). Neuroplasticity: Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature Publishing Group.
• educationworld.  Teachers Link Juggling to Improved Academic Skills. אוחזר מתוך educationworld.com: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr393.shtml
• Green, C' R'. . What are benefits of juggling? - http://www.sharecare.com: http://www.sharecare.com/health/functions-of-memory/what-benefits-juggling
• Jan Scholz1, M' C'-B'. (1370 - 1371 (2009) ). Training induces changes in white-matter architecture. Nature Neuroscience 12.
• Jansen, P', Titze, C', & Heil, M'. (2009). The influence of juggling on mental rotation performance. International Journal of Sport Psychology , Vol. 40 No. 2 pp. 351-359.
• Toshihiro Nakahara1*, K' N'-i'-i'. (2007). Effect of juggling therapy on anxiety disorders in female patients. Department of Behavioral Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, and Department Psychosomatic Medicine, Respiratory and Stress care Center, Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima City, Japan, © 2007 Nakahara et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.